Mark Wahlberg: Bill Belichick Would Be Welcome in Las Vegas, but He’s Not Leaving New England Anytime Soon

LAS VEGAS — Mark Wahlberg loves Las Vegas. He moved to the desert last year with his wife and four kids and is in the process of trying to turn Las Vegas into “Hollywood 2.0.” (More on that later.) But he wants to make one thing clear — he’s not expecting the Las Vegas Raiders to become the “New England Patriots 2.0.”

Wahlberg, a lifelong Patriots fan, knows Tom Brady bought a minority interest in the Raiders. He knows Raiders owner Mark Davis’ first swing at building “Patriots West” didn’t work after firing head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Zeigler and benching quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who all came from the Patriots. And he’s aware of the speculation Bill Belichick may be done coaching in New England and looking for a new gig, but he’s not buying it.

“I don’t think Belichick is leaving New England anytime soon,” Wahlberg told The Messenger on Wednesday night. “I’m still a big Belichick fan. I thought they were losing to get a better draft pick, maybe get a top-2 pick. I never questioned the coach’s plan. Whatever Bill Belichick wants to do, if he wants to come here, I’ll support him.”

The Raiders are currently looking for a permanent head coach and general manager (and perhaps a quarterback) after their second straight below .500 season. But Wahlberg doesn’t think their recent failures and the Patriots' struggles this season should stop the Raiders from trying to recreate the Patriots model in Las Vegas.

“We had an unprecedented 20-year run,” Wahlberg said. “What the Patriots did during that time has never been done, six Super Bowls, playoffs every year. You have to understand there’s going to be a slump here and there. There’s going to be a downswing here and there. If you’re miserable after having a run like that, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s not fair.”    

Las Vegas has turned into a sports hotbed since Wahlberg moved to the city, with the Vegas Golden Knights winning the Stanley Cup, the Las Vegas Aces winning back-to-back WNBA championships and the city hosting F1 and getting ready to host Super Bowl LVIII in February. Wahlberg has been trying to turn the city into a filming hotbed as well by pushing Nevada lawmakers to pass the "Film Bill,” which would provide tax incentives for filming in Nevada.

Wahlberg began to make the push for more films to be made in Las Vegas after shooting Family Plan, which will premiere Friday on Apple TV+. Most of the film was shot in Las Vegas with resorts such as Aria, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Luxor, Circa, Plaza and The Strat serving as the backdrop. The premiere for the film was held Wednesday night in Las Vegas. Wahlberg’s next film, Flight Risk, directed by Mel Gibson, was also shot in Las Vegas.

“I knew right away this is where we wanted to be,” Wahlberg said. “We were very excited about it and we wanted to be part of the community and we certainly wanted to bring something to the table. To be able to shoot Family Plan here and Flight Risk and hopefully bring many more films here in the future. It’s very exciting.”